


Coming Out

by Candy_Kittens



Category: Malcolm in the Middle
Genre: FTM, Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity, Malcolm is transgender, Malcolm just underestimates him, Reese is a (surprisingly) supportive older brother, Reese is also not a complete moron, Transgender, everyone does really, female to male, female to male to be exact
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-19 00:37:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16129958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candy_Kittens/pseuds/Candy_Kittens
Summary: Malcolm struggles with his gender identity, and confides in the one person he was least expecting to.





	Coming Out

**Author's Note:**

> So... a transgender Malcolm in the Middle short. Unsure of how and where I came up with this idea, but it didn't turn out too bad. Just know that I'm no expert on trans stuff, so I apologize in advance if there's anything in this that's offensive.
> 
> I _will_ also Malcolm is referred to both Malcolm and Mallory in this though, along with both he and she, depending on who's perspective it's in.
> 
>  
> 
> _also posted in my MitM one-shots book on my Wattpad account, @/-hawkwing_

Malcolm stood in the bathroom shirtless in front of the mirror, wishing that what he sees is what he truly feels and is inside. Why should he have been cursed to be born in the wrong body? What did he ever do to deserve this?

Pulling at his long hair, that he desperately wants to cut, but has been too afraid to do so in fear of what his mother will do, he drops to the floor, tears falling from his eyes as he screams.

"This isn't fair!" He yells in frustration. "Why do I have to be so cursed! What the hell is wrong with me?!"

He continues on like that for about another half hour, till he's laying on his side on the floor hugging his knees to his chest. He doesn't care that he looks like a pathetic mess, nor does he care how dirty the floor is. He doesn't care about anything right now.

It's just a good thing that he's home alone in the house right now, as far as he knows anyway. He had complained about having very bad stomach cramps to get out of going to school.

Miraculously his mother had believed it, usually she just sends him to school no matter what. Maybe she only believed him this time around as he's actually nearing his time of the month this time.

Unfortunately for him though, he's not alone in the house. His older brother Reese - who is a complete moron - had decided to ditch school today and come home early.

Reese knew that his sister Mallory is home from school today and in the house by herself... he's not sure why though. His mother just said that it's girl stuff, and that it's better for her to stay home today.

Whatever the reason though, he doesn't find it fair that Mallory gets away with a lot just because she's smart and the only girl in the family aside from mom. He doesn't find it fair that she gets all the special treatment.

"Hey Mallory!" He shouts as soon as he climbs through the kitchen window and inside the house. "Do you wanna...." He trails off as he hears yelling and screaming coming from the bathroom. "Mallory?"

Slowly, he makes his way over to the bathroom. The yelling is definitely coming from the bathroom, and is _definitely_ Mallory.

"Mallory?" He calls, knocking on the door. "You okay?" He asks.

Everything's quiet after that, and Reese contemplates opening the door and finding out what's wrong. He may not like all the special treatment Mallory gets, but he _still_ doesn't want anything bad to happen to her.

"Mal, it's Reese." He starts. "Can I open the door?"

On the other side of the door, Malcolm just lays there in silence. He wasn't expecting Reese to be home right now, though he can't say that he's not surprised by it.

Looking over at the door, he realizes that Reese must have at _least_ heard some of what he was yelling. Luckily he doesn't think that Reese is smart enough to figure out what's wrong, but that doesn't make him any less afraid in case he does manage to figure it out.

"I'm opening the door anyway, Mallory." Reese says from the other side of the door. "So you better have clothes on."

Malcolm looks down at himself. He has a pair of jeans on, but he's still shirtless _and_ braless, so his breasts are on full display. He's just glad they're not exactly _very_ big, doesn't mean he likes having them there though.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Reese asks, after opening the bathroom door and looks down at his sister, but looks back up as he notices she's not wearing a shirt or a bra. "And where's your shirt and bra?"

Malcolm doesn't say anything, just points to his shirt and bra sitting in a pile in front of the door to their bedroom.

"Well, do you mind putting them on?" Reese asks, walking over him to the shirt and bra, picking them up and throwing them at Malcolm. "I'll be in our room if you want to talk about... whatever the hell has been going on with you lately."

Malcolm watches as Reese heads on into their bedroom, shutting the door behind him, before he's sitting up to put his bra and shirt back on, albeit slowly... just to buy some time.

When he finally has his shirt and bra back on, he heads on into his bedroom and flops down onto his side of his and his younger brother, Dewey's bed. Oh, how he hates not having his own bed....

Reese watches as Malory flops down onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow. He's got no idea what's been up with her lately, and since he's a moron, he's not sure if he'll be able to figure it out himself.

"Mal, you okay?" He asks, moving over to her side, brushing her hair off her face as she turns to look at him. "Have you been crying?" He asks, noticing how red and puffy her eyes are. He's never really seen her cry like before, so this is... strange.

"Just piss off, Reese." She mutters, slapping his hand away.

Unfortunately, Reese isn't about to give up that easily....

"Come on, Mallory! You've been acting weird for months now!" He says. "There's got to be _something_ wrong. Why won't you tell me? I'm your brother."

Malcolm looks up at him, before looking away again. "You won't understand." He sighs. "No one will." He's almost certain that Reese won't understand.

"Are you just saying that because I'm a guy and you're not?" Reese asks.

Malcolm doesn't say anything to that. He's not even sure how to say it in a way that Reese would understand anyway. How the hell is he supposed to explain to a moron such as Reese, that he doesn't feel like a girl at all, but a guy?

_Is_ Reese even capable of understanding that?

How is he supposed to explain it to Reese that he was born the wrong gender, when he himself doesn't really understand it, even though he has an I.Q. of a hundred and sixty five? Malcolm may be a genius, but he sure doesn't quite understand why he is like this....

"Mallory... I _can_ try to understand." Reese says. "You're my sister, and I don't want to see you hurt. I may not say it very often or at all, but I _do_ care about you."

Malcolm looks at him, surprised to hear that confession come out of Reese's mouth at all. It's _Reese_ after all.... When in his entire life has he ever said that he cares for someone else?

"You do?" He asks, sitting up on the bed.

"Well duh." Reese says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Just because we don't get along at times doesn't mean I don't care about you, or won't beat the snot out of anyone who gives you any trouble."

Malcolm can't help but smile at that. Hearing that from Reese, does make him feel a lot better, but would Reese be able to understand if he tells him that he doesn't feel like a girl at all, but a boy?

"So... do you trust me enough to tell me what's wrong?" Reese asks, sitting down on the bed next to Mallory.

"I don't...." Malcolm trails off. "I'm not sure how to explain it to you in a way that you'd understand." He says.

He _really_ isn't sure how to explain it to Reese in a way that he'd understand. Unless he's underestimating Reese, and he'll understand just fine... though Malcolm finds that rather unlikely....

"Mallory. I'm your brother. You can talk to me." Reese assures her. "Wait... you're not pregnant, are you?"

"What? No!" Malcolm says, not exactly surprised that Reese would ask that. "I'm _not_ pregnant. I don't even have a boyfriend in the first place."

Reese nods. "Good, cause I swear if you were, I'd kick whoever's ass got my little sister pregnant." He says. "Plus, mom and dad would kill you if you were pregnant."

Malcolm can't help but cringe a little at Reese calling him his _little_ _sister_ _._ He's _only_ younger than Reese by a year. Then him being called _sister_ just feels... wrong.

But he also can't help but admire how Reese would be willing to kick some guys ass if he got him pregnant. Though... that doesn't come as much of a surprise to him, sometimes he thinks Reese is just looking for any reason to get into a fight.

"Honestly... mom and dad might _still_ kill me if they found out about...." He trails off, looking down at the ground.

"Find out about what?" Reese asks. "What are you hiding, Mal?"

Malcolm sighs, shaking his head, and looking anywhere but at Reese. "Do you know how it feels to pretend to be someone you're not?" He asks. "Like... you feel one way inside, but on the outside you're completely not what you feel?"

He casts a glance up at Reese, finding that he looks like he's trying to understand, but is failing miserably. _At_ _least_ _he's_ _trying_ _to_ _understand_ _._

"Wait... I'm lost." Reese says. "Why would you have to pretend to be something you're not?"

"Okay... I don't really know _how_ to explain it, but..." Malcolm starts, sitting up on the bed a bit more and turning so he's completely facing Reese. "You are a guy, and you _know_ for sure that you're a guy."

"Yeah...." Reese nods.

"And you also look like a guy on the outside." Malcolm carries on, realizing that maybe he _does_ know how to explain it, just... will Reese understand it? If he himself barely understands it, will Reese be able to? They've never been taught this type of stuff in school before, he had to search it up himself.

Reese nods. "Okay, so... what are you trying to say?" He asks. "I'm a guy, and I look like a guy on the outside, yes. So, what does _that_ have to do with you?"

"Well... I may physically _look_ like a girl, but... I don't _feel_ like one." Malcolm says, hoping that's simplified enough for Reese to understand. If it's not, then there's got to be something wrong with him....

Reese is quiet, seemingly deep in thought. Malcolm takes that as a sign that just maybe it's simple enough for him to understand and he isn't really a complete moron.

"So... you don't feel like a girl?" Reese asks.

"Yeah." Malcolm nods, relieved that Reese seems to be able to understand it, or is at least trying to. "I don't feel like a girl at all."

Reese nods. "Are you sure it's not just because your boobs are tiny, and you're the _only_ girl in the house apart from mom?"

Malcolm has to stop and think about that. It's a fair enough question, but _is_ that why he feels like this? No.... That can't be why. If it were, then he's sure he'd actually feel like a girl, whereas he doesn't feel like one at all.

"Pretty sure it's not." He shakes his head. "I feel one hundred percent a boy, Reese." He says, before looking down at his own body. "A boy stuck in a girls body...."

He doesn't notice the tears running down his face once more, but he makes no move to wipe them away. He doesn't care about them right now anyway, but what he does care about, is _how_ Reese is now taking this confession. They may not get along very well at times, but he doesn't want Reese to hate him because of this.

Malcolm half expects Reese to react badly to this, but he's taken by surprise as Reese pulls him in for a hug. He's not sure how to respond to it, so he just rests his forehead on Reese's shoulder and cries.

Reese holds Mallory close to him. He may be an idiot, but he knows it took her - well, he should really say _him_ now - a lot of courage to say that. Now he's got even more of a reason to look out for Mallory at school, and if _anyone_ messes with _him_ , they're going to get their ass kicked. No one messes with his _brother,_ except him.

"I guess you don't want to be called Mallory then?" He asks.

"No, not really." Malcolm sighs, shaking his head. He _really_  doesn't wish to be called Mallory, but there's not really much choice on the matter until he officially comes out. "I'd prefer Malcolm." He says, as they pull out of the hug. "But, just keep calling me Mallory, or Mal. But _only_ until I'm ready to tell everyone else. Preferably just call me Mal though."

Reese nods. "Okay." He says. "And I _promise_ I won't tell anyone." He may need to watch what he says in front of their parents now, but he'll for sure be trying his best to keep that promise.

Malcolm nods, wiping away his tears. "Thanks, Reese." He says. "And... thanks for not freaking out about it."

"No problem." Reese says. "You are my _brother_ after all."

Malcolm smiles at that, glad that this all went better than expected. In fact, he's glad he has confided in someone about it, even if it _is_ Reese, who he _hopefully_ can trust enough to keep quiet about it till he's ready to tell everyone else.

"So... you wanna go do some mindless vandalism, or are you on your... uh..." Reese starts, but trails off. "Whatever mom said you're on."

Malcolm raises an eyebrow at him. "You mean my period?" He asks, before shaking his head, he doesn't really like talking about _that_ , and sure is glad for the fact that he's not actually on it right now. "Nah, I'm not on it." He says. "I just used that as an excuse to stay home."

Reese nods. "Nice. Though mom will probably kill you for lying about that." He says. " _If_ she finds out."

"Not before she kills _you_ for ditching school again." Malcolm retaliates. "But yes. Let's go do some mindless vandalism." He says, as the both of them get up. "We still got those fireworks?"

"Buried in a box in the backyard near the garage." Reese says, running over to their closet to retrieve their shovels they have hidden in there among all their other junk. It's a wonder how their parents haven't found them hidden in there yet, or some of the other stuff they have hidden away... _especially_  the nuclear option; something that none of them talk about, and aren't exactly very proud of.

"Awesome. Let me just get some shoes on, and then we can go dig them up." Malcolm says, before running into the closet to get a pair of sneakers.

"Alright." Reese says, heading over to their bedroom window, and climbing out after throwing the shovels outside. "I'll meet you outside, _Malcolm_ _._ "

Malcolm looks up from getting his sneakers on to see Reese climbing out the window, and he can't help but smile. Reese easily accepted his coming out to him, and doesn't seem to be viewing him any differently. He's still got to come out to the rest of his family and his friends, but having one of his three brothers know about it and be cool with it, lifts some weight off of his shoulders for now.

Telling his parents can wait for now though. He's rather afraid of how they'll react, especially his mom, so _maybe_ telling his friends or Dewey next will be safer. Or maybe even telling Francis will have a better turn out, Dewey might just blab to their parents before he wants them to know.

Maybe telling his best friend Stevie would be the easiest. By the time Stevie's finished telling anyone, whether it be on purpose or by accident, Malcolm will likely be able to figure out a way to shut him up. It's not like it's a very difficult thing to do with Stevie anyway, by the time Stevie's finished blabbing (if he ever does) Malcolm will already be as far away from him as possible, or would have stopped him from saying anything already.

Until then though, he's just going to have to keep pretending to be _Mallory_ , until he's ready to come out fully as _Malcolm_.

**Author's Note:**

> There'll be another part to this at some point, just not sure when.


End file.
